Looking at what Dell is offering in its XPS 730 H2C system, it is difficult for Alienware to find real differentiators besides its brand and some may even consider the upgrades rather cosmetic. The differences come down to an overclocked Core 2 Extreme QX9770 processor that runs at 4 GHz (200 MHz more than in the Dell), the option of Nvidia graphics chips (Dell only offers ATI), the option of a 2×64 GB SSD drives as well as an Ageia physics card and a network accelerator card. In its base configuration, the QX9770 OC-equipped Alienware Area-51 ALX desktop is priced at $6119. Similarly equipped than the Dell XPS 730 H2C, which will require a few downgrades to about $5950, the system is actually about $100 cheaper than the XPS. If you tack on all the expensive options, especially a $500 premium for two Nvidia 9800GX2 cards, a $1400 2×64GB SSD configuration as well as a $350 Blu-ray drive, you will end up in the neighborhood of $9000 with the Alienware PC.